Pros And Cons Of Being One Full Year Of Sobriety

Many people have been misguided about whether or not alcoholism is “disease” that attacks a person’s good health. A key suggestion of those that believe alcoholism is a disease is that a disease is uncontrolled. This is not so. When people develop an addiction to alcohol they tend to push everything of importance out of their lives: family, friends, and sometimes even jobs. People with addiction to alcohol throw

Attending a local Alcoholics Anonymous meeting was a humbling and informative experience. To be completely honest, I had no idea what to expect going into the meeting. Right before I walked in, I felt somewhat uncomfortable and embarrassed. I felt as if I was intruding on someone’s personal life with my presence, even though I knew I was welcomed since the meeting was listed as “open”. Alcohol abuse is a very sensitive topic to me, as someone quite close to me is an alcoholic: my Uncle. I know that he is a recovering alcoholic, but I never quite know what is going on with him because I don’t ask questions and he never shares what he is feeling with me. When I was younger, I remember that he was always the life of my family parties, but I know now it was because he was drunk. When I see him now, he isn’t as energetic as he used to be and often avoids situations where alcohol is involved. Although my Uncle did not personally tell me, my father has shared with me that he attends AA meetings at a church in my hometown. I never understood what AA meetings really entail and didn’t grasp how they helped alcoholics recover. Attending this local AA meeting helped shed light on what my Uncle feels, and I am more understanding to his addiction. I am thankful for this assignment because I know that my Uncle is not alone; the AA community is so supportive and the members all have the best intentions of getting

My grandfather was an alcoholic. He drank from the moment he rose out of bed until he passed out in the evening. He battled with this disease for many years. Drinking alcohol was like breathing air, it was his daily routine until the day he passed away.. Alcoholism took his life at the age of 65. I loved my grandfather; he was a very caring and loving man. In fact, at one point he was an electrical engineer, he lost his job when alcohol took command of his every waking moment. I chose to attend an Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meeting, because I wanted to gain an understanding of the program, in hopes to increase my understanding of the struggles my grandfather went through. This would be my first AA meeting. This particular AA group is called, The Spring Forest Recovery Group, they meet every Sunday at 7:00 pm. It is located at 4015 Spring Forest Road, Raleigh, North Carolina. Every 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays they have their speaker meeting. Every 2nd & 4th Sunday they have their big book study. This past Sunday was their big book study. Everyone had his or her blue books, titled Alcoholics Anonymous. I walked in sat down and listened carefully as the 12-steps to recovery were being read out loud. The room was still except for the words that bounced and echoed throughout the room. The room is set cafeteria style, 8-foot tables and white chairs filled the room with rows of 4. Group is a mix of multicultural members, with a common problem or

Mark grew up in Pennsylvania and started drinking and using at a young age. He was mandated to attend AA groups in his 20s but never liked them or participated. Marks mentality was ‘I can do this on my own, nobody needs to help me’. He was able to stay sober for a couple of months, but never told the group or received the chips because he ‘didn’t see the big deal’ and thought that the chips were stupid. One day during chip allocation Mark whispered these thoughts to an older member who howled “you dummy! Those chips aren’t for you, they’re for the newcomers” (M., personal communication, June 1, 2017). Of course everyone turned and stared, and Mark was humiliated, but he learned an important lesson that day: the chips are to show the beginners that there is hope, that if you take it one day at a time you can reach that first

Everyday, more and more people are being claimed by alcoholism. The most important message AA makes is that there is help available, and there are people who want to help you, just as other helped them. Louis, a 79 year old AA member reciprocates his AA experience by “try[ing] to help the younger people find sobriety and happiness the way I have. I tell them, “If I can do it, so can you” (AA pamphlet). This is just one of many stories AA members have to offer an observer.

From 7:00 to 8:00 P.M. on Saturday, April 4, 2015, I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous group meeting at St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo, Wisconsin. It was the Area 75 Conference of the “Friends of Bill Group”. It was a truly sobering and enlightening experience and it made me appreciate my own life much more. This is especially true after a talk I had with a member of the group who asked to remain anonymous, suffice it to say that his story was a very tragic one. I would like to report on my general reaction and afterthoughts to the meeting, but I think it would appropriate to recount the member’s story first.

We knocked on the door of the off-campus apartment, as it opened we were confronted with the heavy stench of alcohol. A young girl was passed out on the living room floor, a pile of empty beer cans filled the kitchen sink, and the deafening music rattled the window panes. A group of girls managed to stumble past us. They waved goodbye to the host, who was handing drinks to me and my sister. It was not my first time drinking. In fact, everyone there was quite experienced – after all, it’s college. Half of the guests were completely drunk, and I had no problem with it. That is, until later that night when my sister locked herself in a room with a guy she had met only a week before. This prompted me to seriously consider the effects of

The meeting began with the discussion leader reading a passage from a book called Living Sober. The chapter was titled, “Be good to yourself.” After reading the passage, the discussion leader talked about his sobriety and offered some words of wisdom to the group as a whole. He then opened the floor for each person to say whatever he/she wants about his/her journey to recovery. The meeting then was passed from person to person. This part of the hour-long meeting went on for 45/50 minutes. Each person began their statement/story with “I’m __________, and I am an alcoholic.” The others then responded, “Hey/Hi ___________.” Some people talked about how they are several years sober. Others were obviously very new to the process. Most of the individuals

There were numerous stories shared. In one instant, a person had been sober for over 12 years and found

The third and final stage of recovery is known as late recovery, and involves a client finding growth and meaning in life. In this stage, relapse may be less frequent as a sense of purpose is found. As this stage is found only by enduring great challenges, a client may not be as tempted by relapse and the act of back tracking in their recovery may seem tiresome and unworthy of their time. However, though a deep awareness of the consequences of substance abuse is profound, relapse is still possible if an addict forgets that he or she has a disease that is incurable and succumbs to the enticement of “just this one time can’t hurt” or has the thought that “I have been clean for so long. I am cured.” Bill W. stated in his book Alcoholics Anonymous that “This is the baffling feature of alcoholism as we know it-this utter inability to leave it alone, no matter how great the necessity or the wish” (pg. 34). Complete abstinence is the only choice for those with the disease of addiction, and so many recovering addicts forget this simple realization in the late recovery stage.

Finally, chapter eleven discusses how the alcoholic, fully accepting his recovery, will not seek to drink again. The alcoholic will change the people, places, and things that have made them an alcoholic as much as possible and will live a life of sobriety and become a living success for others. The chapter reiterates Doctor Bob and Bill’s first visit together and their eventual creation of Alcoholics Anonymous. Lastly, the chapter continues

When my sister hit her teenage years, she hit a slippery slope of partying and drugs. Our family went through some hardships with Jelly’s drug and alcohol addiction. Jail time, drug rehab, in and out patient; however, my mother and I stood by Jelly’s side through it all. We were working on mending our family wounds when it happened. An old love and drug buddy of my mothers, Jeff, had kept in contact with her over the years. Still a frequent drug user, Jeff somehow convinced my mother to let him move in with us. Jeff was not just a drug addict; he was a thief, a liar, and a woman beater, as we would soon find out.

The road to recovery was not an easy road back. I still do the same elementary things today that I had to do to achieve recovery. I realized that honesty and open-mindedness was a must. I had to surrender all—I wanted real success.”

On various occasions throughout the week, I was left to take the steps without the support of friends. Friends of mine would say, “I will meet you downstairs” or “I will walk down the stairs with you but not up”. During these interactions, I became aware of how difficult it could be for individuals who have stopped using substances to go through sobriety alone. Before the experiment, I would use the elevator with multiple people; however, when using the steps it was rare to see another person. Toward the end of the week, I just wanted to fit in. I wanted to feel like part of a group. More importantly, I wanted to the journey to my destination to be easier and less

Before one can begin the process of remaining abstinent from alcohol, the individual must first accept that there is a problem stemming from drinking alcohol. Admitting that there is something wrong about consuming too much alcohol, enables the individual to take action. Although the alcohol abusers peers may highlight the problem to the user as well, he or she is more likely to commit to quitting if the problem is acknowledged by the individual. First, the alcohol users assess his or her situation regarding alcohol abuse. Next, the individual will need to take steps to ensure his or her peers are aware and supportive of the situation. If the users, peers all abuse alcohol it may be difficult or embarrassing to acknowledge your plan to change. Now that the alcohol user has acknowledged the substance abuse problem, it’s